how to install it and scan a QR code?

TousAntiCovid (AntiCovid) is the Covid 19 contact tracing application to alert the French when they have encountered patients and stem the spread of the epidemic. But the application has undergone several updates, which now offer it other possibilities. Operation, interest, new additions, question of personal data and the impact on the battery, we come back to all these points in this file.

Latest news on the TousAntiCovid application

On October 22, 2020, the government launched the TousAntiCovid application. It is in fact a reworked version of StopCovid, which failed to convince the French public and which has been brought up to date. TousAntiCovid (renamed on some smartphones after installation in a more sober AntiCovid) already seems more popular than its predecessor with almost 12 million downloads. Let’s go over everything you need to know about this service.

What is TousAntiCovid (AntiCovid) used for and how does it work?

The principle of TousAntiCovid remains unchanged compared to the objectives of StopCovid: it is a tracking app whose primary goal is to warn the user if he has been in contact with an individual who tested positive for Covid-19. This works with Bluetooth, which must always remain activated on the smartphone. The platform can then determine with which other smartphones on which TousAntiCovid is installed your own mobile was close and therefore know who crossed with whom. The application takes into account contacts within a meter for at least 15 minutes so as not to bombard users with false alerts.

When a person tests positive for the novel coronavirus, then it can declare itself as infected on the application, which will then warn individuals who have been in contact with them for a prolonged period during the period of contagiousness (which begins from the 48 hours preceding the date of onset of symptoms or seven days before his positive test if the person is asymptomatic). The informed user can then self-confine as a precaution and take a test to find out if he has contracted the virus.

The app also has a section My Notebooks in which it is possible since June 6, 2021 to scan your negative PCR tests, recovery and vaccination certificates as part of the Health Pass.

The government is also preparing the complete reopening of bars, restaurants and sports halls by announcing the presence of QR Codes at the entrance of establishments. Users will have to scan these on their arrival, in order to be warned in case of risk of infection. The feature is already available in the app and you can read our full brief to find out more.

How to download TousAntiCovid on Android and iOS?

TousAntiCovid is of course a free application. It is available on the Play Store for Android smartphones and on the app store for iPhone owners. For users who had already installed StopCovid on their mobile, they just need to update the app to get TousAntiCovid, which is an important update from its predecessor, but not a brand new app that starts from scratch.

The functionality is in theory the same on Android and iOS, but in fact, the application works less well on iOS. Indeed, the development teams have made the decision to dispense with Google and Apple protocols for the sake of independence from the two giants. And if tracing remains possible on Android without the tools provided by Google, it is on the other hand much less efficient on iOS, much more closed.

TousAntiCovid does not have all access to the Bluetooth BLE chip that equips the iPhone. Moreover, it is difficult to understand why the government is reinventing lukewarm water: Apple and Google provide a turnkey solution for their smartphones, available to the services concerned, to integrate a contact tracing system that really works. Finally, let us note that unlike a majority of countries, the French application is strictly incompatible with the contact tracing systems of our neighbors.

We can bet, however, that these difficulties will gradually be resolved. To participate in contact tracing:

Download AntiCovid iPhone from the App Store

What’s new in AntiCovid (TousAntiCovid) compared to StopCovid

The effectiveness of StopCovid was disappointing in particular because of the small number of devices on which it was installed. To make it more attractive and pretend to revive the interest of French people around the app, several features have been added to TousAntiCovid. First, it now becomes possible to deactivate the application manually. When you are at home, you no longer need it a priori and you avoid it turning in the background for nothing.

Then, it takes on a new information role. From the home screen, a highlighted menu provides access to the “key figures” of the epidemic, updated daily. The number of new cases identified in France is for example presented. Data refined at the level of cities and departments should appear soon.

Other information such as the number of TousAntiCovid users or the volume of notifications sent to potential contact cases are part of the range of the application which also includes the number of people vaccinated. TousAntiCovid also refers to two other services set up by the government:

• Covid screening: A map that indicates the nearest screening centers using geolocation. It also exploits the collaborative aspect by indicating an estimate of waiting times based on user feedback. Useful for choosing the screening center that is both close and will not make you wait too long. Covid screening works throughout France, except in Guyana.
• My Covid Tips: A questionnaire to find out what to do in the event of symptoms of Covid-19, for yourself or for a loved one, depending on the family, professional and state of health situation.
• Health pass : by clicking on the Open my diary function, it is possible to access a section which groups together all the vaccines carried out so far. This option allows you to scan a new document, but also to find the QR codes corresponding to your vaccines. This section is particularly useful when you are asked for the Health Pass at the entrance to a cinema, an event, an amusement park, a restaurant, etc.

Also read: Health pass – what is it, where to use it, how to download it, everything you need to know

With TousAntiCovid, France cut off from Europe

The European Commission has launched an initiative to create a European network bringing together data from each national application. The applications of Germany, Italy and Ireland are already thus linked, while waiting for other countries to join the movement, starting with the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia and Spain. France will never be part of it. As explained earlier, TousAntiCovid does not rely on the protocols of Google and Apple, while it is the case with our neighbors.

Within the European Union, only Hungary is in a similar situation. The French app cannot therefore be connected to others and be integrated into this large infrastructure which is in the process of being set up. This lack of interoperability forces French users in particular to install and activate both AntiCovid, but also its equivalent in the country where they are going. Cross-border workers are particularly concerned.

AntiCovid and respect for privacy

France’s isolation is explained by its desire to guarantee its citizens the security of their personal data. This is the main argument for a solution based on a house protocol rather than simply relying on the APIs of Google and Apple. To set up this initiative, France relied on national public and private players: Inria, ANSSI, Orange, Dassault, etc.

TousAntiCovid does not store any data other than the proximity history of the smartphone. It can also be deleted manually at any time by the user. The application has been developed in such a way as to make it impossible to identify a user or to know who he has crossed paths with and where he has gone. Guarantees to avoid temptations such as sharing contact tracing data with the police as in Singapore in the context of criminal investigations.

However, a new system for collecting statistics introduced in June 2021 was singled out by three computer security researchers. According to them, this system endangers the privacy of the French. Indeed, it turns out to be very greedy in personal data, so that it is possible to draw up a portrait of the habits of the users. However, it is possible to deactivate this system by going to the settings of the TousAntiCovid application. In the Statistics and audience measurement section, all you have to do is uncheck the box and click on Delete my data.

TousAntiCovid = less autonomy?

The autonomy of smartphones is necessarily impacted by the application, which requires to be active in the background and to leave the Bluetooth on. The Directorate General of Health (DGS) admits this itself, speaking about “15 minutes of duration (Editor’s note: autonomy) less per day, depending on the phone“.

To limit the battery draining by the application, it is recommended to activate AntiCovid only in risky situations, in a closed place with a high concentration of people for example (transport, commerce, etc.). The DGS itself explains that such use is sufficient, but you must of course not forget to reactivate the application as soon as you are in a place or situation conducive to the circulation of the virus.